Learning Curve
by Wise Ravenclaw
Summary: The third years are off to college. Several captains end up at the same university. Somewhere else in Japan, five guys who could be considered their team's "team mom" in high school go to university together. Follow their four year long journeys to get their degrees. They'll learn valuable information for their fields as well as some things about their new teammates and/or friends.
1. Daichi learns Oikawa's bad with goodbyes

**Author's Note: It's been awhile. School's been busy, club duties, and yeah. So this fic takes place the year after the Haikyuu! Which means the 3rd years are college freshmen, the 2nd years are now 3rd years, and the 1st years are now 2nd years. The point of view will be different in each chapter but I'll specify whose POV it is. I'll try to mention what everyone is majoring as soon as possible.**

**Updated Author's Note: I came up with the idea in the middle of February, and worked on it a bit towards the end of March, and now on this fine mid-May evening, rewriting it. I have a sociology exam tomorrow that I haven't studied for and a mood board to do, not to mention a ton of other work, but I want to write this.**

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**Daichi's POV:**

"This isn't goodbye. We talked about this. We'll Skype every weekend. Even though I'll be in Tokyo and you'll be in Miyagi, we can still keep in touch." I state confidently. Asahi and Suga nod. Kiyoko already left for college. Suga is going to school in Miyagi. Asahi didn't want to attend college so he got a job.

"My son, I'm so proud of you. I still can't believe you're going to school in Tokyo. Be safe, study hard, call me when you get to campus or when you get settled in…" my mother starts rambling.

"If you need anything, don't be afraid to call us." My dad says. I notice a train arriving behind my friends and family, not entirely ready to say goodbye.

"Well, looks like my train is here." I awkwardly state. I adjust my backpack slightly before moving to Asahi and Suga, pulling them into a hug. "Thanks for making the past 3 years so amazing. I couldn't ask for better teammates."

After a moment, I hug each of my parents as well as my siblings. "I'll miss you." I get my bags, tell my siblings to stay out of trouble, and board the train.

"Quickly! It's here!" I notice someone yell. Four people run towards the train. Two boys around my age a woman who looks a few years older, and a child. The woman and one of the boys have chocolate-brown hair, the other boy has really dark hair. They quickly exchange hugs before the boy with chocolate-brown hair hops on the train.

Once the train leaves and my friends and family are out of sight, I sit down and sigh. I can't believe I'm going to college. I'm going to be a Literature major at the University of Tokyo, and I'm going to be in the honors program. Instead of living at home with my parents and two siblings, I am sharing a room with another guy my age, living on the same floor as a bunch of other guys my age. I won't have class with Suga every day. And I'll have a whole new team. I wonder what they'll be like.

-5 hours later-

The train reached Tokyo some time ago and I've now reached the campus. I pause to rummage through my bag, pulling out a piece of paper with instructions of where to go. There's a lot of people rushing around, eager to start their futures.

"Excuse me. Do you know where I can find West Hall?" I ask a guy with dark hair and bangs that make him look like he's still in his emo phase.

"Yeah. I just came from there." He says before pointing me in the right direction. I thank him and start the walk. After about 10 minutes, I reach the dorm.

Following the instructions on the sheet, I found the unloading area and got my things handled. After thanking the moving crew, I enter the building and head to the office to get the key to my room.

"Hi. I'm here to get my key. I'm Sawamura Daichi."

The girl working looks through a stack of papers. "Do you have any ID?" I pull out my ID and hand it to her. She looks through the stack of papers, highlights something, returns the ID, and gives me a key. "You're in room 10-08 and it looks like your roommate has already arrived."

"Thank you."

I start making the walk up the stairs because the moving instructions said we can't use the elevators. I'm so glad that I played volleyball in high school and that it helped my stamina. After a few minutes, I reach the floor and head down the hall, greeting the few people I see.

Once I reach room 10-08 I stare at the door for a moment. There are two drawings of sneakers taped to the door. One has my name and the other has the name of my roommate: Oikawa Tooru. I knock to let him know that I'm here before using my key to open the door. My things are on one side of the room, Oikawa is on the other side, unpacking his things.

Oikawa turns around to greet me. "Sawamura, long time, no see. I still can't believe we're roommates. Are you still doing volleyball?" I nod. "I guess that means I'm your setter and you're my spiker."

"Yeah. I wonder what the rest of our team is like." We both shrug and go to unpack our things. After I get my essential things unpacked, I let Oikawa know that I'm going to get my student ID and head to the student center.

-40 minutes later-

I return to my dorm with a new form of identification, a Snickers bar, and determination to put up my decorations.

"I'm back. Hey, after we finish unpacking, do you wann- Oikawa, are you okay?" He's sitting on his bed, holding a pile of pictures with tears down his face.

"I'm okay." He claims, though the bloodshot eyes, shiny, wet eyelashes, and tear tracks don't really convince me. "I just miss Iwa-chan. We've gone to school together for years and now he's in Miyagi and I'm in Tokyo, and we won't be able to get lunch together or do homework or play volleyball and I miss him."

I walk over and offer him a hug, which he accepts. "Hey, hey. It's okay." I try to comfort him. "I have an idea. How about we take some deep breaths and you get some water and call Iwaizumi." He nods and smiles a bit.

About 10 minutes later, he sets the stack of photos on his desk and takes out his phone, calling Iwaizumi. It rings a couple times before the former ace picks up.

"Hello? Tooru? How's Tokyo? How was your train ride?" I don't mean to listen in on their conversation, but Oikawa has his phone on speaker mode. I turn back to unpacking my things to give them some privacy.

"It's interesting. The city is beautiful and the view from the dorm is amazing, but I miss you. I should have stayed with you in Mi- "

"No. You're going to University of Tokyo with a volleyball scholarship and you're getting your degree. You have plans for your future and I have my plans. We both know that we'll be in each other's futures, but this path, with different universities is for a reason. We chose schools that we thought fit our needs and we'll still keep in touch. Okay, Crappykawa?" Iwaizumi starts.

"You're right, Iwa-chan."

Note to self: Oikawa seems to either be bad with goodbyes, gets homesick easily, or some combination of both.

Additional note to self: If Oikawa is ever stressed, it helps to lay out the facts.

"So, how's Miyagi?" Oikawa asks. "Got a cool roommate?"

"Shiratorizawa."

"Huh?"

"He's from Shiratorizawa." For a moment, Oikawa seems to tense up and his eyes go wide with shock. Even I pause from unpacking after hearing the name of the powerhouse school we once faced. I can't help but wonder who Iwaizumi's roommate is. Maybe they weren't a volleyball player, but maybe just a normal student at Shiratorizawa. Or if they played volleyball in high school, quit after graduating. All I know is that I've faced them once and I know which players I'd rather not face again if possible.

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**Author's Note: So that's chapter 1! I hope you enjoy! Please follow/favorite/review if you liked it. Shout out to the Orange Court Discord server for giving me feedback on my thoughts occasionally. I wonder if any of you readers can tell who Iwaizumi's roommate is (I think the people in the Orange Court Discord probably know) and bonus if you know who the guy who pointed Daichi in the direction of his dorm is. I'm so glad to get this chapter up. I think I wrote it at least 3 times trying to figure out whose POV to do. Next chapter will hopefully come out sooner. Have a nice day!**


	2. Semi learns that Iwaizumi likes Godzilla

**Author's Note: Hi! I hope you all are enjoying the story so far. Chapter one showed the first day of two former captains, now we get to see how two former "team moms" experience their first day of college. Or maybe I should say first few days. Later in the chapter when Semi is texting, the normal italicized lines are texts he's receiving and the bold italicized lines are texts he's sending. Also, I'd like to point out that I know nothing about Godzilla except for the fact that according to IMDB, there's a lot of Godzilla movies. But my dad and I are seeing the new movie when it comes out next weekend, maybe there'll be some Godzilla references in future chapters that are Semi or Iwaizumi centric. Time frame: starts the same day that chapter 1 takes place in and continues through that weekend.**

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**Semi's POV:**

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ I guess that's my new roommate.

"Come in, it's your room too." I call out to him. The knob turns and I lock eyes with Aoba Johsai's former ace: Iwaizumi Hajime.

"No fucking way." He says. "Mom, I change my mind about college, I'm going to Tokyo with Tooru."

"What's wrong, Hajime?" a woman, I'm assuming his mother asks.

"He's from Shiratorizawa." Iwaizumi claims, pointing his finger at me.

I stand up straight walk across the room, and bow, introducing myself to my new roommate and his family. "Nice to meet you, I'm Semi Eita."

"Nice to see you again. I'm Iwaizumi Hajime." He returns.

"You know each other?" His mom asks.

"We've played against each other a few times in high school."

"My team beat his every time we played." I contribute, with a small smirk. "I went to Shiratorizawa Academy. I was a setter. I hope to continue to be a setter in college."

"It'll be okay, Hajime." His mother claims. "See? I'm sure you'll get along well. You already have something in common. I wouldn't be surprised if you guy aren't good friends by your first visit home."

"Yeah…" We both say. I return to my bag to keep unpacking.

His parents come in and help him set down his things. They unpack and eventually head out.

"So. You're from Aoba Johsai and I'm from Shiratorizawa. We defeated you every time we played each other. I intend to continue volleyball. I'm not sure if you are, but if you are, drop the pettiness while we're playing. I don't care how you feel about me when we're in the dorms or if we have any classes together, but if we're both playing on the court, continuing volleyball, we need to set aside our differences while playing. Agreed?"

He scowls a bit, but nods.

-A few hours later-

I take a moment and glance at my phone to check the time. It's only 8:38, but unpacking's exhausting so I gather some pajamas and go to get changed. When I get back to my room I collapse into bed and close my eyes, intending to fall asleep.

-? Later-

I'm awoken by a phone ringing. Exhausted, I look out the window. The sky is dark, indicating that it's still night.

"Oi, do you have any idea what time it is?" I grumble.

"It's 9:09. I gotta take this call. Hello? Tooru? How's Tokyo?" He turns away and gives his attention to the call.

"No. You're going to University of Tokyo with a volleyball scholarship and you're getting your degree. You have plans for your future and I have my plans. We both know that we'll be in each other's futures, but this path, with different universities is for a reason. We chose schools that we thought fit our needs and we'll still keep in touch. Okay, Crappykawa?" Iwaizumi starts. I slightly flinch at how cold his voice gets. I sit up, realizing I may not sleep for a while and decide to continue the unpacking that I was saving for tomorrow.

"Shiratorizawa." I look up, curious why he's talking about my former school. "He's from Shiratorizawa." Oh. Guess we're dealing with this again. I climb out of bed and go to my duffel bag. I decided to throw on my Shiratorizawa sweater and pull out a piece of folded fabric. I go to my desk to get some extra Command Strips and start putting them up on the wall next to my bed. When they're set, I unfold my cloth, revealing a huge Shiratorizawa flag.

"Yeah. It's ridiculous. Oi, what are you doing to the wall?" I turn around, noticing Iwaizumi set down his phone and is looking at me.

"I'm decorating." I state as if it's obvious. I turn around to continue hanging up my flag, not without noticing my roommate's Aoba Johsai shirt and the way he rolled his eyes.

"I'm back. So, how's your roommate? Hope he's better school than mine is from." He pauses. "Sawamura? No way!"

-86 minutes later-

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Crappykawa. Have a relaxing evening." Iwaizumi says before ending the call.

"Is that going to be an everyday kind of thing?" I grumble.

He shakes his head. "Not as long as tonight's call."

"Are you going to talk shit about me in every phone call too?"

He shrugs. "We'll figure that out depending on the day and how much you talk about Shiratorizawa."

"Hey, let's think about how much you bring up Shiratorizawa. Have you ever thought about that?" I rebuttal. "I'm just here to get my degree. I want to play volleyball and make as few enemies as possible, but I guess that isn't happening because _somebody_ can't move on from the past."

He just stares at me and I stare at his Seijoh pennant, avoiding his eyes.

_Knock, knock, knock_

I move to get the door and pause for a moment when I see our RA on the other side of the threshold. "Hey, what's up?"

"I've been visiting everyone to see how settling in is going, but it sounded like there was a bit of yelling. Is everything okay?"

We both nod and Iwaizumi makes his way over. "We're getting along just great. Turns out we both played volleyball in high school." I nod and throw on a fake smile.

"That's awesome! I didn't play, I was on the basketball team, but I had some friends in high school who did."

"What school did you go to?"

"Johzenji!"

"Looks like from the decorations and your shirts that you two also went to school in Miyagi?" I nod.

"Both schools have great teams. But remember, no matter what team rivalries there were in high school, don't dwell on them. With volleyball, you need to connect."

"Yep, receive, set, spike." Iwaizumi states.

"Exactly! Receive the new opportunities, set yourself up for success, and spike your way to new beginnings! College is a great time for new beginnings." Iwaizumi and I nod. "I just wanted to pop in and say hi, so I'll be on my way. If either of you need anything, I'm right next door."

We both thank our RA and he heads down the hall. Once I notice that he's in his room and the door is closed, I close my door and turn to Iwaizumi. I look him in the eyes and state "Ok, if you're going to be petty, be petty quietly. We live next to the RA and I don't want to get in trouble because of you. Understand?" He nods. "I'm going to sleep. Good night."

I climb into bed and close my eyes.

-the next morning-

I wake up and notice Iwaizumi isn't here. Additionally, I have quite a few texts from one Tendou Satori.

**_Obnoxious Weasley UwU:_**

_Heyyyyy Semisemi_

_How's college?_

_Is the food better or worse than Shiratorizawa?_

At the mention of food, I realize that I haven't had a chance to get anything to eat yet and that it's already 10 in the morning. I sigh and hop out of bed, going to my closet and getting changed into a pair of sweatpants and I throw on a t-shirt with Godzilla on it before grabbing my room key, student ID, and phone. Making sure I have anything I need; I leave the room and head out to get breakfast.

**_Haven't had it yet. Heading there now. I'll let you know how it is._**

-1 hour later-

After my first college meal, I take out my phone and get back to Tendou.

**_It sure was food_**

_But was it good?_

**_Meh_**

Once I reach my dorm, I unlock the door and enter. "Holy shit, what the fuck are you wearing?" He asks me.

"Good morning to you too, Iwaizumi-san."

"Fine, I'll rephrase that. Good morning, Semi-san. What the fuck are you wearing?"

I look down at my shirt. "It's my Godzilla shirt. You got a problem?" I stare at him and he hops out of bed and makes it very clear what he's wearing: a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt with Godzilla on it. "Oh hey, we're wearing the same shirt." I point out.

"Yeah no shit."

After a minute of just staring at each other, we burst out laughing. When we finally catch our breath, Iwaizumi offers to binge watch the Godzilla movies and I accept his offer.

-many hours and several Godzilla movies later-

I feel someone gently nudging my side. "Semi-san?"

"Ugh"

"Semi-san? Are you awake?" I open my eyes and nod. "You dozed off for most of the movie. We should probably call it a night. Besides, quiet hours are soon and after yesterday's encounter with our RA was enough for the time being." I sit up and nod in agreement.

"What time is it?" I take note that it's dark out and Iwaizumi checks his phone.

"9:38."

"Thanks for waking me up, you can just call me Semi by the way."

"And you can call me Iwaizumi if you want." I nod before getting up to go brush my teeth.

About 20 minutes later, we've both brushed our teeth and changed into pajamas. Iwaizumi is in bed scrolling through his phone.

"Is it cool if I turn off the light?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks." I turn it off and climb into bed. After I moment I decide to speak up. "Iwaizumi?"

"Hmmm?"

I can feel a smile forming on my face thinking back to this afternoon. "I had fun today."

"Me too."

"Does this mean we're friends?" I ask hesitantly.

"I feel like it does." I feel my smile grow. "Also, we can rewatch that last movie later on if you want since you slept through most of it."

"Thanks Iwaizumi. That sounds nice. Good night."

"Good night Semi." I close my eyes and soon drift into a peaceful sleep.

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**Author's Note: I meant to get this chapter out like last week, but oops. I wrote it in like 4 different sessions and 3 of those were my art history class. I didn't mean to make the chapter as long as it is, so don't be surprised if future chapters are a bit shorter. I usually aim for about 1k words. Next time we go back to the captains and I'm sure y'all will love the next chapter. Unfortunately, I do not think I can see the next update being in the near future. My hand has been having some problems the past couple of weeks and it hurts my finger to write for long periods of time so I need to deal with that. Additionally, I have finals soon. I'll provide an update on how my hand is doing and how it'll effect my writing when I find out. Back to a more positive note, Tendou's appearance was the first of many third years who aren't at either school but make cameos. I loved writing Semi and Iwaizumi's interactions this chapter and I like their Johzenji RA. Please let me know if I used any honorifics incorrectly and I'll correct it. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and have a nice day/night. Thank you to everyone who has followed or favorited so far. Please follow or favorite or leave a review if you liked this chapter or if there's any characters that you'd specifically like to see more of.**


	3. Ushijima learns to make new friends

**Author's Note: This chapter takes place in Tokyo with the captains again. I am super excited to for this one. Time frame: a week and a half after the last chapter/in the middle of their first week of classes.**

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**Ushijima's POV: **

I head to the gym. I check my phone for the time and it reads 5:50. Gives me a decent amount of time to start stretching and warming up before practice begins. As I warm up, people start coming in. Some looking lost and confused, others socializing.

At exactly 6, a tall guy with black messy hair, green eyes, and a friendly face speaks up. "Gather 'round if you're here for volleyball." Not surprising at all, we all gather around and wait for him to speak up. "Hello everyone. I recognize a lot of you, but it also looks like we have some new faces. For our newcomers, I'm Nakamura Yuuki. I'm the captain of the volleyball club, so if you have any questions, you can come to me. I'm a middle blocker. I'm a senior and I'm majoring in mechanical engineering. Before we start playing volleyball, we should do introductions and start with our new players. Please include your name, your major, what year you're in, whether or not you have past volleyball experience, what position or positions you've played if you have experience or what you'd like to be if you're new to the sport, and an interesting fact about yourself.

"I'm Kuroo Tetsurou. I'm a freshman chemistry major. I have experience as a middle blocker and I'm a Ravenclaw." The first newcomer, a tall guy with dark and wild hair states.

"Hey same." A random teammate calls out.

"I'm Bokuto Koutarou. I have experience as a wing spiker. I'm a freshman majoring in biotechnology. An interesting fact about me is that I'm double jointed in both my thumbs."

The next two people in line are familiar. "I'm Oikawa Tooru. I'm a freshman majoring in physics. I have past experience as a setter and I taught my nephew to play volleyball." He flashes a grin afterwards.

"I'm Sawamura Daichi. I'm a freshman literature major. I have past experience as a wing spiker and an interesting fact is that I have the prologue to Romeo and Juliet memorized."

I'm up next. "I'm Ushijima Wakatoshi. I'm a freshman majoring in environmental engineering. I have past experience as a wing spiker and I'm left-handed."

"Ushiwaka?!" Oikawa asks. "This can't be happening."

The rest of the freshmen and upperclassmen go around and introduce themselves. After reaching the last person, who is the vice-captain, Nakamura speaks up again. "Now that we know who everyone is, we can play volleyball. Kenji, can you lead stretches?" Minami Kenji, the vice-captain starts leading stretches while Nakamura continues. "We will do a normal game: 6 vs 6 as well as a libero. Each set ends when a team gets 25 points and the first team to win 2 sets wins. This will mainly be to get a sense of how you freshmen connect and what your play styles are like. Team 1 will be Ushijima-kun, Sawamura-kun, Bokuto-kun, Oikawa-kun, Kuroo-kun, and Naruko-kun. Since there are no new liberos, you guys can have Hanayama-kun as well." The libero makes his way towards us and greets us. He then chooses 7 players for the other side. Us 14 head to the court and everyone else heads to the sidelines.

-1 hour later-

Kuroo, Oikawa, and Bokuto jump to block Minami's spike, but he gets past them. The ball slams to the ground making the score 25-22, the upperclassmen winning the 2nd set and the game. We all stand on the court, trying to catch our breath when Nakamura speaks up. "Great job everybody. Now let's discuss what happened." Everybody heads to the sidelines to get water and start discussing. "Let's start with the scores. The upperclassmen won both sets. Set 1 was 25 to 16 and set 2 was 25 to 22. You guys did a great job. Let's start with the freshmen. You did significantly better in the second set than the first. Do you know why?"

We're all silent for a moment, reflecting when Kuroo raises his hand and answers. "It took us some time to adapt."

"How so?"

"There were a few ways. I can't speak for everyone on my side of the court, but we all came from different high schools. We've faced off on opposite sides of the net, but never played as teammates before. Meanwhile the upperclassmen have played together for at least a year, so it took us some time to click together. Additionally, we went in not knowing what to expect. I know that it definitely took me a few rallies to be able to block Minami-senpai."

"Keep in mind that there may be times where you'll face off against someone without knowing how they play, but you bring up some fair points. Did the rest of you feel like it took some time to connect with each other?" Nakamura turns to us and we nod. "Does anyone else have anything to add about what was difficult?"

I raise my hand. "I had some difficulty hitting Oikawa's sets at times, but that's something that I'll work on."

Nakamura nods. "I noticed you two had some difficulties connecting. Oikawa-kun, did you feel like you had some troubles setting to Ushijima-kun?"

"I haven't had a teammate who spikes left-handed since I was in middle school." He says.

"I noticed towards the end of the second set, Oikawa-kun seemed to be setting to Bokuto-kun and Sawamura-kun more often. If you two can figure out how to connect with each other, I'm sure you'll both be even more powerful players. If you guys have nothing else to add for what felt difficult, I'll let the upperclassmen say if they noticed anything that could be stronger."

A few upperclassmen bring up some things they noticed. Most weak points involved a lack of communication and connecting. Nakamura also brings up some things he noticed.

"Okay we talked about what could be improved. Now, what did you do that you feel worked well?"

"Bokuto and Oikawa seemed to work well together." Sawamura points out.

"I feel like Bokuto was a strong spiker." Oikawa adds.

"My spikes wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for your setting! And your serves were great!" Bokuto compliments back. The two exchange a high five and smile.

"Ushijima's serves were impressive as well." Kuroo contributes. I smile at the praise.

"As well as your blocks, Kuroo-kun." I respond. "Additionally, Sawamura-kun's receives were very reliable." He gives a small smile.

The rest of practice is spent with everyone commenting on the practice match. Eventually, practice ends and people start saying goodbye to each other. Nakamura reminds us that our next practice is on Thursday at the same time and place as it was today.

Most people head back to their dorms or the dining hall. Oikawa stays behind to practice serves along with Minami. The upperclassmen start talking about their holiday break and the classes they're currently taking. Kuroo and Bokuto head in the direction of the dorms. The growling of my stomach reminds me of the time and I decide to grab dinner before going back to my dorm. Sawamura seems to have the same idea as he walks alongside me.

"I can't believe we're on the same team." He says, breaking the silence after a few minutes.

"It's not too surprising. Bokuto-kun, Oikawa-kun, Kuroo-kun, you, and I are all strong players. It would have surprised me if any of us quit volleyball after high school. I think the bigger surprise is that we're all at the same school." He nods in agreement.

"Would you like to sit together?" Sawamura asks me when we reach the dining hall.

"Sure. It could help us connect on the court if we get to know each other outside of practice."

We both grab food and sit down, talking about our lives.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, a quick update on my finger: So I went to the doctor at school around the end of May and she said it was trigger finger, which is basically an inflamed tendon and it happened in both pinkies. Last week I went to an actual hand doctor and it turns out it was not trigger finger. My fingers are just really flexible and the weird bending and the pain was from them like stretching too far. Point is, I no longer have to deal with an injury. Also, I managed to survive finals. IDK how, but I did. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's the beginning of Ushijima and Oikawa's learn to get along arc, which I'm super excited for. Next chapter is going to focus on the team moms again. Hopefully it'll be up soon!**


	4. Kai learns he has supportive friends

**Author's Note: I originally had this chapter going somewhere, but then I remembered the timeline of the fic and had to start over. But to be fair, I had no idea where this chapter was going to go at first and I have even less of a clue now.**

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**Kai's POV:**

I open my eyes and check the time. It's about 9 in the morning. I sit up for a moment and start to check my email on my phone. Yaku's sitting at his desk, most likely doing some work.

"Morning Yaku." I greet, sitting up.

"Good morning, Kai! Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Yaku!"

There are a few texts some of my former teammates. I'll look at those after I check my school email. I have 4 new emails. Two from mailing lists at school, one from my dorm saying I have a package, and one from my coding professor.

_"Good morning class,_

_As I mentioned in class on Friday, I am at a science convention this weekend. Unfortunately, my travel plans got messed up, so I will not be back until Tuesday. Because of this, Monday's class is cancelled. Be sure to take this time to study and don't forget that the assignments posted online are due next Monday. I will see you all on Wednesday._

_From,_

_Professor Takekawa"_

I can't help but smile a bit at the news. Since coding is my first class of the day, I can sleep in on Monday.

"Hey Yaku, guess what?"

"What?"

"Coding got cancelled!"

"That's cool! That means that your day starts late, right?" I nod. "Then we should do something special to celebrate your birthday."

"Sure!"

"I'll text Sugawara." Yaku says, pulling out his phone.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"I'll get it." I get up and open the door. Sugawara is at the door, with his bag and a few balloons. "Suga, come on in!" He enters and takes off his shoes.

"Good morning, Kai. Good morning, Yaku. These are for you." He says, handing me the balloons. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks, Suga. How are you doing today?"

"I'm good. How's your day so far?"

"Off to a good start. I've only been awake for about 20 minutes, but I got a package to pick up later today and my Monday morning class got cancelled."

"That's amazing!"

"I was actually about to text you." Yaku says, turning his chair to face Suga and I. "Since he has all this extra time, we gotta do something to celebrate his birthday."

"Got any ideas?" Suga asks Yaku and I.

I shrug and look at Yaku. "I'm okay with anything. I was going to video chat with Kuroo later in the afternoon, but otherwise I'm okay with doing anything."

"It's your birthday, Kai. What do you wanna do? We can go on a big adventure or do something fun or just stay in and eat cake if that's what you want today." He offers.

I think about the options. "Can we go bowling?" My friends smile and nod. Yaku briefly turns to his desk and starts typing.

"It looks like there's a bowling alley on the other side of town." He clicks the link to their website to find more information.

"Can we go after I get off the phone with Kuroo? My parents will probably also call today, but otherwise my evening should be open." I ask.

"Sounds like a plan. Also think about food. Do you wanna eat at the bowling alley, or go out, or just eat at the dining hall? If one of the last two options, think about if you want to eat before or after bowling." Suga says.

"I'll think about it."

-5 hours later-

My phone buzzes on my desk so I pause my music and set down my textbook. I can't help but smile when I notice I have a text from Kuroo. Then I pause, realizing I should probably change his contact name on my phone.

**_Catptain :3:_**

_Happy birthday Kai!_

_Now you can say you never learned to read lol_

**_What up? I'm Kai, I'm 19, and I never fuckign learned how to read_**

I can't help but chuckle at Kuroo's vine reference.

_Skajfklajfaklsjfkla_

_Nice one_

_Anyways on a more serious note, something came up and I can't video chat today. I'm really sorry about that and I'm sorry I can't be there to celebrate your birthday with you._

**_It's okay_**

_Are you available to video chat tomorrow?_

**_Yeah, I'm probably spending most of the day doing homework._**

_Same. Just name the time and I'll video chat with you._

**_Sure thing. I'll see you then. Are you okay? You said you had to deal with something._**

_Yeah. There's some volleyball stuff. You wouldn't believe it. Ushijima Wakatoshi and Oikawa Tooru are on my team here but they don't get along at all. It's making things a bit difficult. We also have Sawamura. And Bo's here too! ^_^_

**_That's a great group of people. You know that Yaku's with me here, but Sugawara from Karasuno is here too. He's even in the same dorm building as us. We also have a couple more players from some powerhouse schools in the area_**

_That's wild. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow. Happy birthday, Kai!_

**_Thanks, Kuroo!_**

I send Yaku and Suga a quick text saying that my and Kuroo's plans fell through and suggest we leave for bowling at 6, and eating there. Yaku offers to kick Kuroo's ass, but I tell him it's okay, and that the two of us will talk tomorrow.

-4 hours later-

Suga, Yaku, and I get out of the cab and pay the driver.

We look at the bowling alley and stare at the bright neon sign in awe for a moment before going in.

"Hi, welcome to Sendai Strikes Bowling. How many are in your party tonight?" The man at the counter welcomes us.

"Three of us." Yaku says.

"Do you know what size you are?" We tell him our shoe size and he gives us the bowling shoes in exchange for our normal shoes. Yaku insists on paying. "You guys will be on aisle 6. There are balls of different weights near the aisles. You have two games. A server should be by soon with menus for food if you are interested in anything."

We thank the man and head to aisle 6. After entering our names and selecting whether or not we want bumpers (we all do), a server comes by with menus for us. We order some sodas because we're still too young to drink. While she gets our drinks, we talk about food. We decide on some sliders and tater tots. We also got some dessert because why not.

-1 hour later-

"Check this out." Suga says, pausing as he enters a laughing fit. When he composes himself, he chucks the ball at the bumper, full force and it bounces back and forth between the two sides. After about a minute, the ball reaches the pins, knocking over 5 of them despite how little speed the ball has. The three of us burst into a fit of laughter

-1 hour later-

Yaku walks and rolls the ball down the aisle. It knocks over both remaining pins, giving him a spare. He gets one more chance and knocks over 8 of the pins, ending our second game. The screen lights up with the words "Kai wins!" and I make a victory pose. I beat Yaku by 12 points. The final scores were 97 to 126 to 133 with Suga in first and Yaku in last for the first game and 111 to 125 to 137 with me in Suga in last place, Yaku in second, and myself as the winner. When we finish, Suga insists on paying for our food and we head back to our dorm.

"So, what now? The night is young and it's still your birthday. Anything else you wanna do?" Suga asks.

"Would you guys like to play Cards Against Humanity when we get back to the dorm?" I ask.

"Sounds like fun. Gives me a chance to make up for the lack of swearing I did last year because I didn't want to corrupt Inuoka and Shibayama's innocence." Yaku says.

"What about your middle blocker? Lev? Isn't he an innocent first year too?" Suga asks.

Yaku shrugs. "I tried, but he made way too many comments about my height." Yaku responds. Suga nods and says it seems fair.

We get to the dorm and I pull out the box of cards.

Suga starts smiling after drawing a card in the middle of the game. "Guys I found a card that describes me perfectly." He claims, before showing Yaku and I a card that says "Homoerotic volleyball montage."

"Same." Yaku and I say at the same time.

We keep playing until we're all struggling to stay awake. We stopped keeping track of scores and just focused on the cards. Sugawara was surprisingly good at the game and Yaku looked like a fish in water.

Yaku and I go to brush our teeth and then return to our dorm.

"Hey Yaku?" I ask, crawling into bed.

"Hmmm?"

"Thanks for making today so awesome. I really appreciate it."

"It was no problem. I'm glad you enjoyed your day. Before I forget, I have a present for you." He goes to his closet, pulls out a gift bag, and brings it over to me. I move the tissue paper aside and my jaw practically drops when I pull out the gift.

It's a shirt designed to look like my old Nekoma volleyball jersey, complete with a number 2 on it. There's also a Nekoma baseball cap, signed by everyone on the team last year.

"Yaku, I love it." I get out of bed and pull him into a hug. "Thank you so much."

"Eh, it wasn't just me. Our kohai, and Kuroo signed it too. Plus, coach Nekomata and coach Naoi."

"What did I do to have such amazing friends?" I ask myself more than anyone else.

"You joined the volleyball club in our first year of high school, put up with Kuroo and I, and helped support our kohai when our senpai were jerks."

"I try so hard to forget about our senpai."

"At least our senpai here are nice." I nod then pause, trying to suppress a yawn.

"I think I'm gonna head to bed now."

"Yeah, same."

He turns off the light and we both climb into our beds.

"Goodnight, Kai."

"Goodnight, Yaku."

* * *

**Author's Note: finally done! I'm sorry if this chapter isn't as good as my writing usually is. The writer's block was strong with this chapter. I had to start over multiple times. I promise next chapter will be better. And since I know how it's gonna go, it should be up soon. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you liked it, feel free to follow/favorite/review. They motivate me. It's almost midnight as I'm about to upload this and I'm not usually up this late, so I'm going to head to bed. Good night!**


	5. Oikawa learns Ushijima isn't that bad

**Author's Note: OMG you guys, thank you so much for the kind comments on the last chapter. I'll be honest, I struggled with it a lot and by the end I just wanted to be done but some of you really seemed to enjoy it. It made me so happy to wake up and see such nice comments. I've had so many ideas for this chapter for awhile so I'm glad to finally write it. Time frame: about a month after the last chapter.**

**Some warnings for this chapter: overworking, fainting, and hospitals**

* * *

**Oikawa's POV:**

This can't be happening. "Sawamura, what the hell is Ushiwaka doing here?"

"Studying. We have a calculus exam on Thursday that we'd like to pass. I suggest you study too." Sawamura responds, setting down his textbook.

"Would you like to join us?" Ushijima offers.

I shake my head, releasing my grip from handle of my gym bag and walking to my desk. "I already made other plans." I unpack my gym bag before heading to my desk. I put my calculus textbook in my backpack along with my notebook, laptop, and calculator. I grab my phone charger and start to leave again. "I'll be back." I say, exiting before either can respond.

I send Kuroo a quick text saying I'm on my way to his dorm and before I know it, I'm there. I use my ID to enter the building and wave when I see him and Bokuto. They sign me in and the three of us head to their dorm.

"You good? You seem tense." Bokuto asks.

I nod, though it's not exactly honest. I just can't show the extent of my frustrations. "Can't wait to be done with this calculus exam."

"You and me both." Kuroo says, opening the door. "Feel free to sit anywhere." He offers. I lie down on their bean bag chair.

-20 minutes later-

"How do you derive number 15?" Bokuto asks. Kuroo leans his head on Bokuto's shoulder and looks back and forth between their work and starts helping him.

"I can't believe Ushiwaka is at our school." I say to myself. Bokuto and Kuroo turn to look at me. Bokuto sets down his pencil.

"Yeah you two seemed to have a rivalry or something in high school?" Bokuto asks.

"Iwa-chan and I were supposed to beat him and go to nationals. Now how am I supposed to beat Ushiwaka if we're on the same team?"

The two of them exchange a look. "I got this, Bo." Kuroo speaks up after a moment. "You aren't." I start to object but Kuroo keeps talking. "Unfortunately, you and Iwaizumi are at different schools. You and Ushijima are at the same school, on the same team. You and Iwaizumi can't defeat Ushijima to go to nationals now. You can't defeat Ushijima to go to nationals. You two are on the same team and you need to work together. You two need a common goal. Something that motivates both of you to succeed. If you both want the same thing out of volleyball, you can work together to reach that goal. Or if you have a common thing you like, you can bond over that off the court and use that bond to have a stronger connection on the court. If you follow one thing I've said, you just need something in common."

I stare at him. "That's ridiculous, Tetsu-chan."

"Dude's got a point." Bokuto speaks up. I roll my eyes. "Besides, getting along with all your teammates just makes volleyball even more fun."

"Can we just get back to studying?" I ask.

"Sure, but we need to have a conversation about this at sooner or later." Kuroo decides after a moment.

"Fine."

"How's Friday sound?"

"I don't care."

Kuroo goes to the other side of the room to get a stack of Post-it notes, comes back over to Bokuto and I, and writes "Discussion about teamwork after exams." He then sticks the note on his fridge.

"Problem 16." We all groan in frustration before continuing our work.

-Wednesday-

"Hey Shittykawa, how's your week going?" Iwaizumi asks on the phone.

"Oh my God, Iwa-chan, you wouldn't believe my week. It's been a nightmare."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Yes please. So, on Monday, we just got assigned so much work. Then yesterday I had volleyball practice, it was fun. Then I stayed a tiny bit later and when I got back to my dorm, you wouldn't believe who was there!"

"Wait you were staying late? Shittykawa do I need to go to Tokyo and drag you away from the gym?"

"You're missing the point Iwa-chan."

"Fine, who was in your dorm when you came back?" He asks.

"Ushiwaka! I don't know what I did to deserve this."

"Wait why was Ushiwaka in your dorm?"

"He and Daichi were studying."

"Oh yeah. Sawamura's your roommate."

"Yeah. And he befriended Ushiwaka." I can feel Daichi's stare even though he isn't here.

"Has he done anything specific to make being on the same team so horrible?" I pause for a moment and Iwaizumi continues. "Because if he hasn't done anything specific besides being from Shiratorizawa, maybe you should try to get to know him. He might not be that bad."

I gasp. "Who are you and what have you done with Iwa-chan?"

"I'm just saying, my roommate is from Shiratorizawa and he's not that bad. Maybe you just need to get to know him a bit. My roommate is pretty cool."

"Iwa-chan, you don't understand."

"Then I'd like to try to. Can you explain it?"

I can feel my frustration building up. "I don't have time. I need to go back to studying. Big exam tomorrow. I'll talk to you later. Good night, Iwa-chan."

"Wait." Whatever Iwaizumi was about to say next gets cut off when I end the call. Since I'm here alone, I hold the nearest pillow up to my face and use it to muffle my screams. When I've regained my composure, I go to my desk and continue studying for calculus.

-? later-

"Oikawa? Buddy, you here?" My eyes flutter open and Daichi's nudging my shoulder.

"Huh? What's going on?"

"You must've fallen asleep studying, it's almost 11. You should probably head to bed."

"Are you my dad or something?" I ask, yawning at the end.

"No, but I know it'll help you during the exam if you aren't half asleep."

"Just five more minutes."

"Oikawa, you studied a lot already. You should rest. I'm holding you to that five minutes."

"Ok Dadchi-chan." I go back to studying and true to his word, Daichi tells me to go to sleep five minutes later. I brush my teeth, then return to our room. I place my textbook under my pillow and climb into bed, hoping I can have some dreams that'll help me in the morning.

-Thursday evening-

I scramble into the gym, unaware of the time but all I know is that I'm running late and run up to Nakamura. "Sorry I'm late, Nakamura-san." I bow, apologizing.

"It's okay Oikawa-kun. Practice doesn't start for three minutes. Are you okay?" I nod.

"Yeah. I had met with my group for a group project after class, but I realized I left my volleyball stuff in my dorm and I had to go back to get it."

"We're glad you're here." Nakamura reassures, offering a warm smile. "Since we're about to start in a couple minutes, you should start stretching."

"Thank you, Nakamura-san." I set down my bag on the bench before changing into my volleyball shoes and putting on my knee-pad and knee supporter. When I have my equipment ready to go, I join the other first years in stretching.

"Are you alright?" Daichi asks.

"Yeah. Hectic day."

Daichi hums in agreement. "Can we all agree that calculus exam was brutal?"

"Yep."

"Yeah."

"Totally."

"I'm gonna have nightmares about it for the next week." Bokuto claims.

The exam wasn't even the half of how hectic my day was.

We keep stretching until our coach, Hayashi gets everyone's attention. "Okay. We're going to do start with a spiking drill for a bit. We'll have one setter on each court and our managers tossing the balls up to the setters. Liberos will be on the other side of the net, trying to receive the ball. Everybody else, divide yourselves evenly in two lines and spike the ball when it's your turn. Switch lines after you go, so you can have time working with each setter." We nod and I head onto the court.

Bokuto's at the front of the line and we exchange a look. Shirofuku sends the ball up in the air and I set it. Bokuto runs up and uses all his force to slam it on the other side of the net. Hanayama dives to receive it, but doesn't reach it in time. Bokuto and I high five before he goes to the other line.

Spikers and blockers keep rotating and soon enough, Ushiwaka is next in line.

_"I noticed you two had some difficulties connecting."_

I remember what Nakamura said during the first practice.

_"Oikawa, did you feel like you had some troubles setting to Ushijima?"_

Shirofuku tosses the ball and Ushiwaka starts running.

_"I noticed you two had some difficulties connecting."_

He jumps and I set the ball to him.

_"Oikawa, did you feel like you had some troubles setting to Ushijima?"_

He spikes it. Hanayama receives it, but it goes out of bounds. Ushiwaka and I stare at each other for a moment before he goes to the other line.

We keep going through line and soon enough, I set to Ushiwaka again.

_"I noticed you two had some difficulties connecting."_

I realize I lost focus for a moment and he's already up in the air.

_"Oikawa, did you feel like you had some troubles setting to Ushijima?"_

I set the ball up to him with extra force, so it'll reach him in time and he sends it over the net where Hanayama receives it.

We continue the drill for another 15 minutes before it's time for a water break.

"You good, dude?" Kuroo asks between sips on water.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. It just seemed like your setting to Ushijima seemed kinda…forced? Like the way you set to me and Bo and Daichi and even our upperclassmen seemed different than how you set to Ushijima."

_"I noticed you two had some difficulties connecting. Oikawa, did you feel like you had some troubles setting to Ushijima?"_

"Everything's okay, Tetsu-chan."

-after practice-

"Good job today, everybody. Have a nice weekend and be sure to study hard. I'll see you all on Tuesday." Coach Hayashi says. Most people decide to grab their bags and leave with friends, likely going to their dorms or to grab dinner. Daichi pauses next to me after he changes out of his volleyball gear.

"Bokuto, Kuroo, Shirofuku, and I are going to get dinner. You coming?"

I shake my head. "Gonna stay and practice serves for a bit longer. I don't know when I'll be done."

"Okay. Text us when you're done and I'll let you know if we're still at the dining hall."

"Thanks, Dadchi-chan." He turns around to leave with Bokuto, Kuroo, and Shirofuku behind him. Soon enough, only one other person is here: _Ushiwaka_. I ignore him and move one of the carts of balls close to me.

I toss the ball up, take a few steps, jump, and hit the ball. I stop for a moment and smile to myself when I see it land on the other side. I grab another ball from the cart and do the same thing again, and again, and again.

I lost track of how many serves I've done and how many Ushiwaka did. I grab another ball and prepare to serve when I start to notice some the edges of my vision going black. I tighten my grip on the volleyball to try to ground myself, but the blackness keeps growing.

"Huh? Ushijima what are you doing?" I ask. "Wait why am I on the floor?"

"You passed out."

"How long was I out?" I start to stand up then immediately decide that's a bad idea when the darkness comes back.

"Are you okay?"

"Mhmm. Just got a bit dizzy again." I set myself somewhere halfway between sitting and lying down.

"Take it slow, Oikawa." He says and I nod. After a moment, I slide myself to the nearest wall and lean on it for support. Ushiwaka follows behind.

"So how long was I out?"

"40 seconds, give or take." He guesses "Do you know what might have caused it?" I shrug. "Oikawa this is serious."

"I know. Just- just give me a few minutes."

"Sure thing."

We sit next to each other in silence and he checks his phone. "Mind if I ask a couple of quick questions?" He speaks up after a moment.

"Depends."

"What did you have for breakfast?"

I shake my head. "I had a calculus exam this morning and slept through my alarm, so I didn't have time."

"What about lunch?"

I pause, thinking about my day. "A granola bar between classes."

"Have you been drinking water?"

"I drank some during the water breaks."

"Hmm…" He goes to the bench and grabs something from his bag as well as my water bottle then returns and hands them to me. "See if these help." He gives me my water bottle and a bag or Doritos.

"How do I know you didn't poison the chips?"

"The bag's sealed shut. Would it make you feel better if I ate one too?" I open the bag and hand it to him. He takes a Dorito and eats it, handing the bag back to me. "See? Now if I did poison the chips, which I didn't, then I'm going to suffer just as much as you are." After a moment I start eating the chips.

"How are you feeling?" He asks when I finish.

"Better." I slowly sit up, then stand, and I start gathering stray balls.

"Wait a minute, Oikawa. You should go to the hospital, to make sure you don't have a concussion or anything. I can take you there. If you sit down for a few minutes, I'll quickly put the equipment away."

"Thanks, but I'm good." This wouldn't be my first time going to the hospital so I know how long the waiting process can be. I'd rather not spend it with Ushiwaka.

"I can't force you to go, but if Sawamura knew, he'd probably suggest you go. Plus, if coach knew, he'd bench you until you have proof that you're okay."

"I'll be the judge of that." I pull out my phone and text Daichi.

**_Daichi:_**

**_Hey Daichi, theoretical question: let's say I theoretically passed out earlier, but I feel better, what do I do? _(￣▽￣*)ゞ**

_How long ago was it?_

**_20-30 minutes?_**

_Wait until you don't feel like passing out. Then be sure to get checked out by a doctor. In case you have a concussion._

_Are you okay?_

**_I'm fine Dadchi-chan_**

**_Also I can't make it to dinner with you guys _m(_ _)m**

I frown at my phone. "So, what'd Sawamura say?"

I weigh my options. Do I admit he was right or not? Do I test my luck with the second part of what Ushiwaka said? "Fine. You win. I'll go."

"It's not a competition. You're my teammate and your well-being is important. Give me a couple minutes to put away the equipment, then we can go."

Within ten minutes, he's gathered the stray volleyballs, put them away, and we're in a cab to the hospital.

We both spend the ride to the hospital on our phones. I send Daichi a quick text saying I won't be able to meet up with him and the others for dinner.

When we arrive, we pay the cab driver then wait in line to talk to the receptionist.

"Next?" The nurse asks and I move up in line. "What brings you here this evening?"

"Um, I passed out at volleyball practice and my teammate wanted me to check to make sure I'm okay and that I don't have a concussion or anything." Ushiwaka nods when I finish.

"Can I get your name?" The nurse asks after writing down what I said.

"Oikawa Tooru."

"I need you to fill these out." She says, handing me a clipboard with some paperwork. "Bring them up when you're finished and we'll call for you as soon as we can."

I thank her before going to take a seat and fill out the paperwork. Ushiwaka follows and takes a seat next to me. After about 15 minutes I bring back the paperwork and wait.

"This is so boring." I say after about an hour and a half. "And a waste of time. I could be using this time to practice my serves or doing homework or studying."

"You can't do any of those things if you aren't okay. Oikawa, I can tell you don't really like me. What is the reason for that?"

His question catches me off guard. "Iwa-chan and I were determined to make it to nationals. In both middle school and high school. Six years we tried and time and time again you stopped us. You and the rest of your team stopped us so many times. It was our goal. Nations was and still is my dream. We spent so many nights, talking about how cool it would be to make it there together. We worked so hard, just to have our dreams crushed every time. And now we aren't on the same team together and you're here and ugh."

I bury my face in my hands. "So, if I understand, it's because of what schools we went to in the past and how our past games turned out?"

"That's only part of it."

"Because with that, we can still go to nationals, you can still go to nationals. We're likely going to be on the same team for the next four years. We have four chances to go to nationals together."

"But it won't be the same without Iwa-chan."

"I understand." I look up at him. "It's a new team and while our new teammates are talented, it's not the same off the court. I miss Tendou's rambling about anime when we'd walk to our dorms after practice. And how Yamagata would sometimes just barge into my dorm without warning. Reon and I would have late night conversations before important events. I miss how Semi and Tendou would bicker without it being hostile. Goshiki would ask me for advice with so many things both related and unrelated to volleyball. I miss Kawanishi would act like he doesn't care but works hard when he thinks nobody would notice and Shirabu's determination. They were wonderful teammates and I think back to high school, wishing for one more game with them or even just one more practice. It was over too soon."

I can't believe what Ushiwaka just told me. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Sometimes, it helps to know you're not alone."

"I miss my old team as well. We all lived relatively close to each other so we'd often walk home together after practices and people came over to hang out so often. Yahaba and Watari would often work on homework and Yahaba, he'd randomly ask for advice about anything and everything." I smile thinking back to when we'd both be working on homework. We'd have a baking show playing in the background. "Anything you could think of: school, relationships, volleyball, the future. He asked so many questions about the future. I miss how Makki and Mattsun knew how to lighten the mood somebody was down. I even miss Kyouken-chan. I miss Kunimi-chan and Kindaichi-chan. They were on the same team is me in my last of middle school as well as middle school. And I miss Iwa-chan. I miss Iwa-chan so much. I miss how he was always by my side. We'd walk to practice together and home from practice together. He stood by my side when I had all my knee issues. We'd talk late at night when we should've been asleep but our thoughts were just racing too much. He could know exactly what I was thinking, even if I didn't say it. And I miss everyone."

"But we have a new team and new memories. And while they can't replace our old teammates, we can have good times. We have Bokuto and Kuroo and all the chaos that comes with them being in the same room. We have Sawamura and his ability to see the potential in anyone. Shirofuku knows how to motivate the team. We may not have kohai who will ask us for advice yet, but we have our senpai and we can ask them for advice. Nakamura-san and Minami-san want everyone to succeed. And we have a really strong team. Maybe we can go to nationals together. Teammates?" he holds out his hand.

I deliberate. I know that if I want to make the national team one day, I have to be able to work with anyone, but this contradicts years of motivation.

_"Maybe you should try to get to know him. He might not be that bad."_

I remember my phone call with Iwa-chan yesterday. I also remember who I hung up on him and start to feel guilty. Note to self: text Iwa-chan later, apologizing.

I shake Ushiwaka's hand. "Teammates. Thanks for taking me here tonight."

"It's no problem. So out of curiosity, what made you choose physics as your major?"

"I just always loved space as a kid. What made you choose yours, it was environmental engineering, right?"

He nods. "I enjoy nature, and it's an important part of everyone's lives and I want to help protect it and with how technology is evolving, help technology evolve in a way that'll also help the environment."

"That's really interesting."

"Oikawa Tooru?" A nurse calls and I stand up.

"Good luck. I can hold onto your volleyball equipment if you want." Ushiwaka offers.

"Sure. Hopefully it won't take too long." I follow the nurse to a room.

"It says here that you passed out. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I was at volleyball practice, then after practice I decided to stay late to work on some serves. One of my teammates stayed late too but we were just working on our own and not really acknowledging each other." I pause trying to recall what happened. "I was feeling a bit stressed out all day. So, after serving for a little while, I started feeling a bit dizzy and then I opened my eyes and I was lying down on the floor."

-Several hours later-

The doctor says I can go so I return to the waiting room and find Ushiwaka. "How'd it go?" He asks after putting a book in his bag.

"I just passed out because I didn't have enough to eat today and was a bit dehydrated. I'm okay. I don't have a concussion."

"That's good. Are you ready to go back to the dorms?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

"Wait a minute. You haven't had anything to eat since those chips earlier, have you?"

"No, but I was just gonna have a snack when I get back then go to sleep."

"There's a McDonalds down the street. Would you like to grab something from there? We can take it back to the dorms with us."

"That sounds great."

I send Daichi a quick text saying I'll be back soon and we head to McDonalds.

-30 minutes later-

"Thanks for today. You didn't have to take me to the hospital, but you chose to and you didn't have to stay, but you chose to. I appreciate it."

"It was no problem. Try to get some rest."

"Sure thing." I say before entering my dorm building, while Ushiwaka goes to his.

I open the door and set down my bag before taking off my shoes.

"Bokuto? Shirofuku? Kuroo? What are you guys doing here? It's nearly two in the morning." I ask, confused because Bokuto's at my desk, Daichi's sitting in bed reading a book, and Bokuto and Shirofuku are sitting on the floor next to Daichi's bed.

"Ushijima texted me while the four of us were at dinner saying that you passed out while practicing serves. They wanted to wait until you came back to make sure that you're okay."

"Yeah. I just didn't have much to eat and I guess I didn't drink enough water. I'm okay now. Besides, Ushiwaka and I went to McDonalds afterwards." I put a Pokémon figure and card on my desk.

"Hold on. Did you two get Happy Meals without us?" Bokuto asks, shocked.

"Bokuto, they had a long day, and I know your day was long too because of that calculus exam, but your day didn't end with a trip to the hospital. There'll be more chances to get Happy Meals in the future." Daichi says.

"Sorry Oikawa." Bokuto says.

"Wait a minute! You said you and Ushiwaka went to McDonalds together. Does that mean…?" Kuroo trails off. "Does that mean you and Ushijima are getting along?"

"Yeah." I sit down on my bed. "We talked earlier and we aren't that different after all."

"That's awesome!" Kuroo says.

"Yeah." I yawn. "Thanks for the concern. I appreciate it."

"It's no problem." Daichi says. "We're your friends and we care about you. We should probably all get some rest though, it's pretty late. Is it okay if we continue this tomorrow?"

We all decide to hang out tomorrow evening and Daichi goes to sign Bokuto, Kuroo, and Shirofuku out.

"Good night, Oikawa." Daichi says when he returns, climbing into his bed. I'm already ready for bed.

"Good night, Daichi." I yawn out before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note: This is what happens when my three (3) brain cells come together. I really hope you liked this chapter. There were actually a couple other moments that I was planning to include (1. During the water break during practice, Kuroo trying to see if Hogwarts houses play a role in Oikawa not getting along with Ushijima 2. For the part where Oikawa fainted, I originally had the idea of it being just Oikawa and Ushijima there, then tried writing it with the team's captain there, then with the vice-captain and captain there, then finally I settled on just Oikawa and Ushijima. I meant to have it up yesterday in time for Yaku's birthday, but I've been busy and burnout sucks. Also, sorry this is so chapter's so long, though I felt like each part fit (even if they didn't directly play a role in Oikawa and Ushijima's learn to get along arc). Next chapter is back to the team moms. Interesting story: a similar thing happened to me a couple years ago. I had passed out at work on a hot day, but everything was good and I got to have ice cream when I got back from the hospital, though I hated having to do so much waiting there. Feel free to leave a review and follow/favorite if you're enjoying this story. Next chapter will hopefully be up in the near future, but I also have finals now.**


	6. Sugawara learns that Semi needs glasses

**Author's Note: It's been a few busy weeks irl. Here we are, back with the team moms. Time frame: it's mid-late May. Not too relevant in this chapter, but next chapter it will be.**

**Updated Author's Note: That was from like August or September, it's now January. I had to deal with some stuff.**

**Updated Author's Note: It's now May. I'm sorry. Also, some chapters have slight edits, so just a heads up for if you read anything before today (5/22). Chapter 5 had some inconsistencies between use of the words quiz and exam. The big calculus thing the gang all took was an exam (I think the timeline might actually place it as being a midterm exams). And also, Daichi's major has been changed from English to Literature.**

**Group chat nicknames: Leo Libero/Yakuwu: Yaku, Captain Sagittarius: their team captain, Semi Scorpio Setter/Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Semi, Gemini Godzilla/Iwaizumeme: Iwaizumi, Gucci Gemini/Granulated Suga: Sugawara, Kaiwaii: Kai**

* * *

**Sugawara's POV:**

"Don't forget that we have a practice match this Saturday. We will be taking notes on how people do and how you guys work with each other, but there is no pressure. Just do your best and try to have fun." Our coach, Sato says.

"Meet at my house at 8 o'clock. I'd like for us to be on the road by 8:30." Our captain, Fujioka says. "If you're a commuter and live far away or you just don't think you can wake up that early, you can spend the night at my house. Good job today everyone."

We start breaking down the equipment and helping put it away. When we finish, the upperclassmen start to head out while I stand by the door with Kai. Soon, Iwaizumi, Semi, Yaku, and Hana join us and we all head to the dining hall. We get there, get food, and find a table together.

"Our first practice match is coming up soon. Can you believe it?" Yaku asks. "Like our first one against another team."

"I just hope I get to play." I say. "I know it might not be likely since I'm only a first year, but it would be nice to have a chance even for one rally."

"Actually, there's a pretty good chance that everyone will get a chance to play, according to what coach Sato told me." Hana explains.

"Really? That's great." Kai says.

"Wait a minute. This is too good to be true. What's the catch, Misaki-san?" Semi asks, glaring at her.

"Why do you think there's a catch?" Yaku asks.

"This may just be because I came from a powerhouse school but we didn't do this thing where everybody 'gets a turn' to play." He explains, using air quotes. "If someone who is not a regular got put in it was either as a pinch server or because they were about to replace a regular." The same thing happened to me at Karasuno. I tighten my grip on my spoon, but otherwise keep a straight face.

"Maybe it's like what coach Sato said. Maybe he just wants to see how everyone works together." I object.

"Then why would he be taking notes?" Semi asks.

"Because a normal practice and a practice match have different conditions. Maybe he wants to see how we work in the environment of a game." Iwaizumi suggests. "Maybe there's someone on the team, and I'm not suggesting it's any of us, but maybe there's someone who's like really good at practice but when there's the pressure of the game they aren't at their best. Or maybe there's someone who's not as strong at practice who will rise up when there's the pressure of a game."

"Misaki-san, is there anything we should know about this game? Is it really 'no pressure' or are there stakes that we don't know about?" Semi asks her.

"Anything that I tell you guys you'll find out after the practice game so it doesn't matter. Just give it your all and do your best." She says.

"So, there are some secret stakes that we don't know about?" Semi asks. "Does it have to do with starting lineups or anything?"

"Hey maybe let's save this conversation for later. Misaki may know something we don't, but it seems that for whatever reason she doesn't want us to know." Yaku says and Hana nods in agreement. I'm glad that Yaku's urging us to drop the conversation because I don't want to think about that either.

"Who would win in a fight: Fujioka-senpai or a big Yoshi?" I ask, after a moment of silence as a way to change the subject.

"How big?" Iwaizumi asks.

"Like the size of a horse." I suggest. I hold out my arms to emphasize how big.

"Does the Yoshi have any other horse-like abilities?" Kai asks.

"Just the size. But it still has its normal Yoshi abilities."

"What do you mean when you say win?"

"Hmmm…" I ponder. "For Fujioka-senpai to win he has to be able to sit on Yoshi, the way someone sits on a horse and be able to ride it. For Yoshi to win, he has to get Fujioka to give up or no longer be able to fight."

"Does Fujioka have any tools to help him?" Semi asks.

"He has the crappy volleyball. You know the one? It's slightly deflated and falling apart. Otherwise, he has his own strength, speed, and wits."

"It would take some time, but I think Fujioka would win." Kai suggests after a moment of silence. Semi nods in agreement.

"No way." Iwaizumi object. "Horses are terrifying. Imagine a Yoshi the size of the horse. It would probably take 6 Fujioka-senpais, each with one of the good volleyballs."

We spend awhile arguing this topic before Yaku speaks up. "I have an idea."

"What is it?" I ask.

Yaku says nothing but instead pulls out his phone and starts texting. A moment later he sets it down and my phone buzzes. I look to see that I have a new notification from our team group chat.

**_Volleyball Fun Zone!:_**

_Leo Libero: Captain Sagittarius do you think you could fight a horse-sized Yoshi and win?_

_Captain Sagittarius: Like the green dino from the Mario games?_

_Captain Sagittarius: Yoshi for sure_

I look at his phone and start laughing. "At least he's confident in his answer."

"Hold on." Semi says before he starts texting.

_Semi Scorpio Setter: Would your opinion change if you had more knowledge?_

_Captain Sagittarius: Like what?_

_Leo Libero: For you to win the fight, you have to be able to sit on Yoshi like how you sit on a horse. For Yoshi wins if you give up or are no longer able to fight. Yoshi still has all its normal traits. The only horse-like aspects he has are the size. You also have the blue and green volleyball_

_Captain Sagittarius: the blue and green volleyball that's falling apart and kinda deflated?_

_Leo Libero: that's the one_

_Captain Sagittarius: oh yeah still Yoshi_

_Captain Sagittarius: the volleyball is more of a hinderance than a help_

_Gemini Godzilla: I knew it!_

_Captain Sagittarius: wait why do you ask? Leo Libero_

_Leo Libero: Gucci Gemini asked_

**_Gucci Gemini: Dinner conversation with the other freshmen_**

_Captain Sagittarius: XD that's awesome. Who thought I'd win and who thought I'd lose?_

**_Gucci Gemini: Kai, Semi, and Hana thought you'd win. Iwaizumi and Yaku thought you'd lose_**

_Leo Libero: Suga also thought you'd win_

_Captain Sagittarius: thanks for believing in me, kids_

After we finish eating, we put away our dishes and head back to our dorms.

-Saturday-

I silence my alarm when it goes off and stare off into space for a moment before my eyes focus on my jersey and smile when I realize what today is. I quietly get dressed and go to the bathroom to get ready, making sure not to wake my roommate. Once I finish getting ready, I send a text to my friends letting them know.

**_Funky Fresh Freshman Force:_**

**_Granulated Suga: Are you guys ready?_**

_Iwaizumeme: Semi and I are good to go_

**_Granulated Suga: Same, just waiting for Kai and Yaku_**

_Kaiwaii: Yaku and I are ready_

**_Granulated Suga: heading down rn_**

_Iwaizumeme: we'll meet you outside the dorms_

I put my phone away as I head down to Kai and Yaku's room. When I get there, I knock.

Kai opens the door and steps into the hallway. Yaku follows and locks the door.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Need coffee." Yaku mumbles.

"We'll get some on the way." Kai says. Yaku nods and we go to the elevator and head downstairs.

We exit the elevator and head outside to Sakura Hall. Semi and Iwaizumi are already standing outside. Semi's scowling, but when we wave and get closer, he waves back and slightly smiles.

"Ready?" Iwaizumi asks.

"Yaku needs some coffee first." Kai says. Yaku nods in agreement.

I press the home button on my phone to check the time. "I think we have enough time to stop by the convenience store near the captain's house on our way over. Yaku can get some coffee and we can also grab some snacks." I suggest.

The group agrees and we head to the store. Yaku and Iwaizumi grab some coffee. Kai gets some sunflower seeds and Semi gets some chips. When the guys finish paying for everything, we head to the captain's house.

"Good morning." Captain Fujioka says after he opens the door. "Come on in. We're still waiting for a couple more people. Most people are just sitting down or eating breakfast." We come in, take off our shoes, and set down our bags.

Soon enough, the rest of the team shows up and the captain gets everyone's attention. "Now that everybody's here, we can head out. We already discussed who's driving with who so let's start loading up the equipment."

We start loading up equipment and start to make our way to the game. I'm in a car with Semi and three of our upperclassmen.

"Do you guys want to play the alphabet game?" A third-year libero named Kirishima asks.

"Sounds fun." I say.

"Sure." Semi says.

"Can't. I'm navigating and he's driving." Fujioka says.

-15 minutes later-

"Gas." I say seeing a gas station sign. "Hotel." I say a moment later seeing another sign.

"Exit." Semi says hesitantly when we pass an exit sign.

"McDonalds." Kirishima-senpai says.

-40 minutes later-

"Ok guys, we're here." Fujioka says when we arrive. We get out of the car and walk to the court with our teammates.

"Here's how the day is going to work." Coach Sato says when we're all in the gym. "There's going to be multiple sets today so be prepared to go in at any time. The goal is to see how everyone does in a match and how they work with other people. Upperclassmen, there may be a chance that you won't be on the court with the people you're usually with because of this. We just want to see how well everyone works together. We need everyone to be ready to go in at any time, so let's warm up. Start with 2 laps around the gym." He instructs us. We start to jog around the gym before going through stretches and some drills to warm up.

Soon enough, we're huddled up and in a few minutes the game will start. "This is a practice match, so there's no pressure. The goal is to see how you perform in a game. We want to see how people connect with each other in a game. We'll be trying different combinations of people so you probably won't be in for more than a set, but everyone will have a chance to play." He looks down at a clipboard. "Starting lineup is Fujioka, Miyuki, Watanabe, Sugawara, Kai, and Iwaizumi. As well as Yaku as the libero."

Semi and I make eye contact for a moment. His eyes convey a message. _I'll step up as setter when you need._ A reminder that my time is limited. I need to prove myself.

-30 minutes later-

Iwaizumi got switched out a few minutes ago. The current rotation has both middle blockers, so Yaku's watching from the side too. Kai and I are the only first years currently in. The other has a pinch server in and he's been on a hot streak. The referee blows his whistle and the server does a jump float serve. It reminds me a lot of Yamaguchi's serve. It's hard to read. This time, Fujioka's able to receive it. It may not be the cleanest receive, but I can work with it. The ball goes up in the air and I move to get beneath it. "Kai!" I call.

"Got it!" He yells back. He jumps and I set the ball. He hits it over the net and it lands on the other side. The other team is unable to receive it. The score is now 16 to 20.

I hear the whistle blow and Semi's at the side of the court, holding a sign with my number. My time has come to an end. I make my way and take the sign from him.

"You did well. I'll take it from here." He says.

"See that guy with the curly black hair? His serves are wild. Jump floats. Be careful." I warn him. We may be fighting for the setter position, but we have a similar goal.

"Thanks." He says. The referee blows his whistle, allowing the change. Semi takes my spot and I go back on the sidelines with Iwaizumi and Yaku.

"Nice job." Iwaizumi says.

"You too." I tell him. I turn my attention back to the game. Kai gets blocked, so the rotation changes, putting Semi in the serving position. He squints at the other side then serves. I can tell what he was going for, but the libero receives it, keeping the ball in play.

-10 hours later-

"Sugawara, come on in." Fujioka says after opening the door. "A few people have already arrived. We're playing some video games. There are drinks in the fridge, help yourself. We're also going to order pizza in a bit."

"Thank you, Fujioka-senpai." I tell him. I come in and take off my shoes. One of the team traditions is apparently parties at Fujioka's place after games. I go to the living room and see Iwaizumi, Semi, Kirishima, and Nishikawa, who's a third-year middle blocker. They're in the middle of a game of Mario Kart. Kirishima and Iwaizumi are sitting on a couch. Nishikawa is sitting on a chair, and Semi's sitting on the floor next to a second couch, a bit closer to the TV than the others. He occasionally squints at the screen, usually after getting an item. Fujioka takes a seat on the couch next to Iwaizumi.

"Hey, Sugawara." Iwaizumi greets, not looking up from the race.

"Hey, Iwaizumi." I greet him back.

"Aye, you made it." Kirishima says. "First official team party. Glad you kids could be here."

"I object to being called a kid." Iwaizumi says. Kirishima chuckles. He crosses the finish line and cheers.

I wait for the race to finish and take a seat on the other couch.

"We got six now. Bottom two switch out." Fujioka calls. That'd be Iwaizumi and Semi. The two give their controllers to Fujioka and I.

-2 hours later-

I make my way to the kitchen. I grab a cup and fill it with water. I return to the living room and sit on the floor with Semi. Yaku, Kai, and Iwaizumi are on the couch behind us. Four of the upperclassmen are currently racing against each other.

"Hey, Semi. Are you okay? I noticed you were squinting a lot." I ask him.

"Yeah. That's just a thing. My vision isn't that great." He admits.

"Do you have glasses?" I ask him.

He shakes his head. "I've needed glasses for a bit, but couldn't find a pair that I really liked how I looked in them, so I just didn't get them."

"You have a prescription?" I ask him. He nods. I take out my phone and open the first-year group chat.

**_Funky Fresh Freshman Force:_**

**_Granulated Suga: We're going shopping tomorrow_**

**_Granulated Suga: Let's call it at bonding experience_**

_Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: I'd like to be excused from this_

**_Granulated Suga: Nope ^_^_**

_Kaiwaii: Why are we all texting when we're all next to each other? _

**_Granulated Suga: So there's proof of this conversation_**

**_Granulated Suga: Semi needs glasses, so I've decided we're taking him glasses shopping tomorrow_**

_Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: You don't have to_

**_Granulated Suga: I'm taking you glasses shopping_**

**_Granulated Suga: Anyone else can come join if you want_**

**_Granulated Suga: We're gonna hype Semi up and help him find some glasses he'll like_**

_Iwaizumeme: I'll join_

_Kaiwaii: Same_

_Yakuwu: Count me in_

_Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: I don't know what to say_

_Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Thanks?_

**_Granulated Suga: That's what friends are for_**

**_Granulated Suga: Also for heaven's sake, you gotta stop squinting at everything_**

_Yakuwu: I noticed that too_

_Yakuwu: how do you not get headaches from all that?_

_Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Trust me, I do_

**_Granulated Suga: Oh geez_**

**_Granulated Suga: So how about tomorrow afternoon? We can get lunch at the dining hall and go right afterwards? We'd also have to find a glasses place _**

_Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: I know where a couple places are_

_Iwaizumeme: Sounds like a plan_

_Iwaizumeme: I'll make sure he's awake_

_Yakuwu: works for me_

_Kaiwaii: Same_

**_Granulated Suga: Great!_**

* * *

**Author's Note: Find out how glasses shopping goes in 2 chapters. Next chapter is back with the captain squad, then after that we'll be back during the mom squad. So elaboration of the long hiatus. Fall term this year was just oof mental health, then winter term was essentially damage control. Then corona happened so I've started writing more as my quarantine hobby of choice. Also I just had terrible writer's block with this chapter and I finally picked it up again. Hopefully chapters will be more often. I'm approaching finals, but it'll be a piece of cake. At the time of publishing, we just hit 420 hits on the AO3 side of readers. Aye, thank you to everyone who's read and left kudos or comments. Also shoutout to AO3 user Mukeandziamgotmelike. She actually kinda motivated me to write this week and also she wrote a great group chat AU with 3 generations of team captains. On the side of things, we're reaching 900 readers. Thank you to all of you who have favorited/followed/commented. Together, that's over 1,300 people who have read this story and I appreciate all of you. If you've enjoyed it so far, feel free to leave a like/comment. Have a nice day!**

**(insert obligatory we reached 420 readers, blaze it joke here)**


	7. Kuroo learns that Bokuto's gay

**Author's Note: Happy pride month, y'all. Btw if you read chapter 6 when it was orginally posted, that time frame changed from June to mid-late May. This chapter takes place the same day as the mom squad has their practice match. Thank you to everyone who left comments and likes/kudos on the last chapter. I got a lot of them during finals so I really appreciate it.**

* * *

**Kuroo's POV:**

"Kuroo! It's here!" Bokuto calls to me. "I'll be right back!" He says. He gets up and runs out the room before I can even ask what _it_ is. A moment later, he comes back to get his student ID and leaves again. I just shrug and turn back to the reading I have to do for my literature class.

A few minutes later, Bokuto barrels back in the room, panting with a package in hand. He's grinning. "It's here." He says again.

"What's here?" I ask him. I close my book. At this point, I'm somewhat intrigued. The reading can wait a few minutes.

"My flag!" He says. He grabs a pair of scissors from his desk and carefully cuts open the envelope. He slides out his flag. "It's beautiful." He says and hugs it to his chest. I can only see a couple colors from how it's folded, but I can see some red and orange in bright vibrant shades. He removes the plastic wrapping and unfurls it, revealing a giant rainbow flag.

"Wow." I say. "It's amazing."

His eyes light up. "Thanks! Is it cool if I hang it up?" He asks me.

"Yeah, totally."

"You're the best!" He says. He takes the flag to his bed and grabs some tape. "Oh yeah, by the way, I'm gay."

"That's great." I tell him. A moment later, it sinks in that he just came out to me. "Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me. I'm proud of you, dude."

While Bokuto's working on hanging it up, I try to focus on the book in front of me, but my thoughts drift back to last year's summer training camp.

-Last Summer-

"Kuroo?" Bokuto calls out. I snap out of my thoughts and look at him from, my spot at the top of the hill. "What are you doing up there this late?"

"Just thinking…" I trail off.

"Don't think too much, you'll short circuit." He yells. I can't help but chuckle at that.

"That means a lot coming from you." I yell back to him. He makes his way up the hill and sits down next to me. For a moment, we just sit together in comfortable silence. The only noise coming from the crickets. The only movement from our breathing and the fireflies.

"What are you thinking about at this hour?" He eventually breaks the silence.

I exhale. Set my palms on the ground next to me and look up at the sky. "Just things." I tell him. "I've realized things about myself. I want to tell people, but I'm scared. I already told Kenma and he said it doesn't change anything, but like we've been friends for years so I'm not sure how anyone else would react."

"If you have something you want to tell people, and if they're your friends, they'd support you no matter what. It shouldn't matter how long you've been friends for, you're supposed to be there for each other. If you want to tell people, you shouldn't have to worry about how people will react, but it's okay if you want to keep your realization a secret." He says.

I nod at his words. He does have a point.

"Okay then, in that case, there's something I'd like to tell you, Bo." I look at him and he nods for me to continue when I pause. "I'm bisexual."

"That's what you realized?" Bokuto asks. I nod and hum in response. "You're still the same Kuroo I love to hang out and goof around with."

"Really?" I ask. I smile. "Thanks. I really appreciate the support, dude."

"Of course." He says.

-Present day-

Shortly after that training camp, I had come out to the rest of my team. They were all really supportive and a couple of them told me that they weren't straight either.

"Ta da!" Bokuto says after a few minutes. I turn to look where he hung up the flag on the wall next to his bed. A few seconds later it falls down on one side.

"That side fell. It doesn't look very straight." I point out, a grin starting to form on my face.

"Nothing's straight about it." He laughs.

"Nice one."

"Can you toss me some duct tape?" He asks.

"Sure." I say.

I grab a roll of duct tape from my desk drawer and toss it to him. He catches it and gets back to work. I watch him while he works. When he gets the flag taped up, he stands back and smiles.

"What should we do now?" Bokuto asks.

"It's a big homework day for me. I need to finish this reading and I was hoping to get my essay started for lit." I tell him. "Maybe we could see if Tooru wants to join us." His smiles and nods at the suggestion. "Can you text him?"

"Sure thing." Bokuto says. He grabs his phone to text him and I turn back to my reading. I get through a paragraph before Bokuto speaks up again. "Ugh. He said he's at the gym, but he'd join us later."

"How about Daichi?" I suggest. "We can make this an all-day homework fest and Tooru can join later on."

"Sounds good! I'll text Daichi." I turn back to read but Bokuto speaks up again. "He wants to know if Ushijima can join."

"Yeah, I'm cool with it." I tell him. He texts Daichi back.

I turn back to my book and get through a couple pages before Bokuto tells me that Daichi and Ushijima are here. I get up from my desk and stretch. I grab my things then head downstairs with Bokuto. We wave when we see them in the lobby. We get them signed in and we start walking back to our room. "What kind of work do you have to do?" I ask Daichi and Ushijima.

"Lots of reading, lots of papers, typical lit major stuff." Daichi says.

"I have to do some stuff for my chemistry and engineering classes for Monday." Ushijima says. "And while it's not due yet, I'd like to get further ahead on the assignments for calculus."

"I have to do the calculus stuff too." Bokuto says.

We reach our room and Bokuto opens the door. We all get inside and take off our shoes.

"Seriously?!" Bokuto exclaims. I look to his side of the room and notice the flag had fallen down, but the tape still stays on the wall. He fishes the flag out from the gap between his bed and the wall. He tries to stick it back up, but the tape won't stick to the flag.

"Tape won't work." Ushijima says.

Bokuto goes to rip off the tape before Daichi stops him. "Bokuto wait! Be careful. If you rip off the paint, you'll get charged for it."

"Then what do I do?" He asks.

"Get water and a paper towel." I say. Gently wet the area around the tape. It'll loosen the bond and it will slide off. Then, wipe away the residue. Wait for it to be entirely dry before you put anything else up."

Bokuto grabs a paper towel and a water bottle. He cleans the wall and gently peels off the tape. He throws it out. "Hey, Kuroo. Got any ideas of how to hang up a flag?" He asks me while drying his wall.

"Nah, that's why I never hung up mine up. Couldn't figure out a good way." I admit.

"I have mine hanging up with clips." Daichi says.

"How do you attach the clips to the wall?" Bokuto asks him.

"Command Strips." Daichi says. "There's some special ones that I used though."

"This gives me an idea." Bokuto grabs a packet of poster putty and some clothes pins from his desk drawer. He sticks the putty to the wall. Then he clips the ends of the flag to the pins and sticks the pins to the putty. He accidentally unclips one end in the process but gets it clipped again. When he gets it up, he gets off his bed and we all start working on our homework.

* * *

After about half an hour of working, the flag falls down. Well more like the clothes pins fell off the wall because they're too heavy for the putty, but same thing. Bokuto walks over to his desk, grabs something, and goes to his flag.

"This is just temporary." Bokuto says.

"What is?" Ushijima asks.

Instead of answering, he tries to hang up the flag, letting out some noises of frustration in the process. After a minute, he gets up to throw something out. He slumps down in front of the fridge and places his laptop on his lap to keep working. "Push pins didn't work."

"Bo, we can't pin stuff into the wall. What if housing finds holes?" I point out.

"It doesn't matter. The pins broke." He says. We try to keep working, but I can tell that Bokuto's upset because of the flag and so he's not getting much done.

"Hey I have an idea. Should we take a break for lunch?" Daichi suggests after a while. I check the time on my phone and am surprised to see it's already after 1.

"I could eat." I say. Ushijima and Bokuto nod in agreement.

"We can take a break then come back here afterwards so you guys can leave your stuff if you want." I tell them.

"I'll text Oikawa to see if he wants to join." Daichi says. Ushijima packs up his textbook and computer. He also grabs some things from bag.

Bokuto goes to get something from his desk and climbs on his bed. He works on hanging up the flag again and I shoot him a look. "Command strips." He says. They seem to be staying up.

"Oikawa's gonna meet us at the dining hall. Then he said he could come back here to do homework with us." Daichi says. When we all have our things, we leave the dorm and start heading to the dining hall.

I notice Oikawa's bag at a table when we get there. Ushijima, Daichi, Bokuto, and I go to get food. When I see Oikawa with a tray, I wave to him. He comes over to me. "Hey Tooru, how was the workout?" I ask him. He already got his food, but he stands next to me while I'm in line.

"It was good." He says. "Today was stamina focused and I'd say it went pretty well." He smiles.

"And you didn't overwork yourself?" Daichi asks.

"Jeez, Daichi-chan. That was one time, after a really long day." He says. "And it was an accident."

"Just making sure." Daichi says. We get our food and sit down. I sit between Oikawa and Bokuto. Daichi's on Oikawa's other side, and Ushijima is next to Daichi.

"How's your day going, Kou-chan?" Oikawa asks Bokuto.

"You wouldn't believe my day, Oikawa!" Bokuto starts. "My pride flag finally arrived, but I have no idea how to hang it up. Nothing that I've done has worked."

"What'd you try?" Oikawa asks him.

Bokuto counts on his fingers as he lists the things he did. "First, I did normal tape and duct tape, but both of those the tape just fell off the flag. Then I tried poster putty with clothes pins, but the pins fell off the wall. Then I tried push pins, but I couldn't even get them on the wall. Oh, I also tried getting it up with command strips right before we left. I don't know how it's doing though."

"You need Command Clips. I just so happen to have some with me and could give you a couple if you'd like." Oikawa says, winking in Daichi's direction.

"That'd be great!" Bokuto says. "I can't wait to get it up."

"Can I also have some?" I ask.

"Of course." Oikawa says. "By the way, I've kind of been doing some research and I had an idea." The group looks at him with curiosity.

"The way you phrased that sounds shady." Daichi says.

"I for one, am intrigued. Let the man speak." I tell Daichi.

"So anyways, I was doing research and Tokyo Pride is coming up. I was planning on going regardless, but how would you all feel about going as a group?"

"That sounds really fun!" Bokuto says.

Ushijima nods in agreement.

"I'd love to go." Daichi says. "Though I'm sure Suga would be jealous. He'd love to go." Daichi's eyes light up and his lips curl up in a smile when he mentions the setter.

"You should invite him! I'm sure he'd love it." Oikawa's suggests. He smiles. "I was going to ask one of my high school teammates if he'd like to join."

"Where would they stay though?" Daichi asks.

"I was going to ask if he could stay in our dorm. I have no problem if Suga does the same." He tells Daichi.

"In that case, I'll shoot him a text tomorrow. He mentioned a practice game today."

"This will be so much fun!" Bokuto says.

* * *

When we finish out food, we make our way back to the dorm, where Bokuto's flag has fallen down again.

"Guess the Command Strips didn't work." Daichi says.

Bokuto lets out a groan of frustration and buries his face in his hands.

"Can I take a look?" Oikawa asks. Bokuto nods and Oikawa climbs on the bed to take a look. "These are poster strips." He states.

Oikawa gets off the bed and fishes a small box out of his bag. "Use these." He says, tossing the box to Bokuto. "Secure the strip to the wall, like the poster strips, then secure the clip to the strip. Give it a few minutes to set, then you should be able to clip the flag up."

"Thanks, Oikawa!" Bokuto says. He works on getting the flag up while I get set up at the desk to work on my essay. After a few minutes, Bokuto takes a step back to admire his work.

"Looks nice." I compliment.

"And here's a couple for you, Tetsu-chan. Since you asked during lunch." Oikawa says, tossing the box to me. I grab a couple of strips and clips and set them on my desk. I get my stuff set up to work and feel Oikawa and Bokuto's eyes on me. "Okay, I'll hang it up now." I tell them. I pull my flag out from the drawer next to my bed and get it hung up.

"Looks beautiful, Tetsu-chan!" Oikawa says.

"Yeah." Daichi says, nodding in agreement.

"Thanks." I smile.

"Okay I scheduled a text to send to Suga tomorrow asking if he wants to join us. I'll let you know what he says." Daichi say.

"Awesome!" Oikawa says. "Anyone else need to do the calculus work?"

"Yeah." Bokuto says. "Ushijima and I both." The three of them huddle up to do their calculus work. Daichi pulls out a book for his literature class and I read over the prompt for my essay.

* * *

**Author's Note: What if I… Put the captain squad… Next to the team mom squad… Haha, just kidding… Unless? ;) Thank you for reading! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! Feel free to leave a like or comment if you enjoy! Once again, happy pride month!**


	8. Iwaizumi learns that Semi hates fashion

**Author's Note: Big milestone! 666 hits on the AO3 side of things! Also, on the AO3 side, this is now my most read story so thank you! We're back with the mom squad so Semi can finally see normally. Takes place 1 day after the last chapter.**

* * *

**Iwaizumi's POV:**

"Well, this has been a fun lunch, I'll see you later." Semi says when we finish eating lunch. He gets up from his chair and grabs his tray. "I'll see you guys at practice."

"Not so fast." Sugawara says. I pull Semi back down in his seat. "It's just glasses shopping."

"It was worth a try." Semi says. "I guess let's get this over with."

"That's the spirit!" Suga says. "It'll be fun. We'll find you some snazzy glasses and who knows, maybe we can do something fun in town afterwards."

"Maybe…" Semi says. "Or this'll be a disaster and I'll remember _exactly_ why I don't have glasses." He mutters that last part. The five of us put away our trays and head out into town.

After a short walk, we arrive at the glasses store.

"Good afternoon, boys." The man behind the counter greets us. "How may I help you today?"

"Good afternoon." We greet all greet him back. Sugawara addresses his question. "My friend here is looking for a pair of glasses." He gestures to Semi, who shrinks in on himself slightly.

"Is this your first time getting glasses?" He asks Semi.

"It is." He says.

"Feel free to look around. If you see anything you'd like to try on, let me know and I'll open the case for you. You can try on as many pairs on as you'd like."

"Thank you, sir." Semi says. The five of us start walking around to see what the options are.

After about five minutes of looking, Semi asks to try on the first pair of glasses. They're a pair of slim rectangular glasses with black frames. He tries them on and looks in the mirror. He stares for about 15 seconds before shaking his head and taking them off.

"Hold on, we didn't even see." Yaku says. Semi scowls and puts the glasses back on. He glares at Yaku. "Okay."

"Semi, this is just something, but try these on." The clerk unlocks the case and lets Sugawara pull out a pair of glasses. He hands them to Semi. "It's okay if you don't like it, I just wanted to see how they look." Semi frowns at the glasses, but tries them on anyways. They're rectangular glasses but the frames aren't as thin as the last pair he tried on. The sides of the glasses are black, but the rest of the frame is a sky-blue color.

"Nope." Semi says, after looking in the mirror.

"Okay. I just wanted to see what you'd think about a color or pattern for your glasses." Sugawara says.

"Yeah, no, the color's too bright. Then I'll have to think about what I'm wearing." Semi says. I could bring up the fact that the majority of his clothes are black and are mostly graphic t-shirts, but I choose not to.

"So darker colors or black?" Sugawara asks.

Semi nods and smiles. "Yeah."

"Hey, what about these?" Kai asks, pointing to a pair of glasses. I go over to see that he's pointing at a pair of dark green square glasses.

"Sure." Semi says. He tries them on and looks at the mirror for a few seconds.

"Let us see before you take them off." Yaku says.

Semi turns to face us. "Oh, the style suits you well." Sugawara says. "Like with the shape of your face." He's right and the green is a good color on him.

"Hmmm…" Semi says, looking in the mirror again. "Maybe?"

We go back to looking around. "Hey, can I try these on?" Semi asks the clerk. He opens the case and lets Semi try on a pair of round glasses with thin frames. Semi turns to face us. He's grinning with one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen him have. "Guys, look I'm Harry Potter." We start chuckling.

"What do you think about the glasses, Mr. Potter?" Sugawara asks.

Semi laughs at Sugawara's joke. "I don't know about the shape." He says.

"Of the glasses you've tried so far, is there a shape you like the most?" Sugawara asks him.

"Hmm…" He stops to think. "I mean the ones that Kai gave me weren't too bad. Like maybe if there's that in black. Or maybe something like the shape for the pair that you had me try but like black. Like I think I kind of like how thick the frames were."

"I may have something that fits that description." The clerk says. He opens a case and sets a few different pairs of glasses out on the counter.

Semi tries them on one at a time. He looks in the mirror, then looks to use for opinions, then looks back in the mirror before trying on another pair. They're all black. The main differences between them are the thickness and whether they're more square or rectangular. He tries on a pair of rectangular glasses. The frames have slightly curved edges. They suit him well.

"They look nice." Yaku says. Kai nods in agreement.

"What do you think?" I ask him.

"I think…" Semi trails off in the mirror again. "I like them." I can see him break out a small smile in the reflection of the mirror. He turns to address the clerk. "I'll take them."

"Success!" Sugawara cheers.

"I'm glad you found something you like." The clerk tells Semi. "Do you have a prescription and do you have it with you?"

Semi nods. "I do." He pulls a piece of paper out of his bag and hands it to the clerk.

"Great. It will take a couple of days to get the proper lenses. They should be ready on Wednesday or Thursday. Is there a way I can contact you to let you know when you can pick them up?" He asks. Semi gives the man his email and phone number. "And those will come to 18 thousand yen. How would you like to pay?"

"Credit card." Semi says. He hands the clerk his card to pay.

"You're all set. Have a nice day, boys." The clerk says.

"Thank you, sir." We tell him before leaving.

"So, what now?" I ask when we're walking down the street.

"We could walk around town. Maybe do some shopping." Sugawara suggests.

"We just shopped." Semi tells him.

"We just shopped for glasses, because you need to be able to see. I meant like just window shopping." Sugawara elaborates.

"I'd be down." Kai says.

Sugawara's phone buzzes and he pauses to read it.

"Ooh. Daichi heart emoji, volleyball emoji, heart emoji." Yaku says, reading the name of the sender.

"Your former captain?" I ask.

"Yeah." He smiles at his phone. "He invited me up to Tokyo next weekend for pride."

"That's sweet. Going to spend some quality time together?" Semi asks.

"Well I don't know how much time we'll have just to us because he offered me to stay at his dorm and Oikawa's his roommate. And he actually said he's going with some of his friends on his current team and wanted me to join. But it's sweet that he thought of me." Sugawara says.

"Funny that you mentioned that. Tooru invited me up for pride as well. He said it would be his first time going and it wouldn't be the same without me." I chuckle, thinking of my text back. "Told him that he wouldn't know if it would be the same since it's gonna be his first time going, but I still plan to go up."

"Kai, Kuroo, and I have a tradition that we meet up for pride so we're going too. It wouldn't surprise me if Kuroo sends us a text reminding us about it if we haven't gotten train tickets yet." Yaku says.

"Ushijima also invited me up. I'm still debating if I'm going to go." Semi says.

"Oh?" I ask.

"It's a long trip and I could just spend the weekend at the dorm relaxing instead. Haven't decided for sure yet." Semi says.

"Well for those of us going, do you all wanna take the train together?" Yaku asks. We all agree that it'd be a good idea. "In that case, we can all get our tickets together. Semi, if you end up deciding to go, we can get a ticket for you as well."

"Thanks." Semi says.

"Well now we gotta go shopping for sure." Sugawara says. "I need a cute outfit for next weekend. I think I saw a thrift store somewhere in the area."

"There's a store a couple blocks away." Kai says.

"So, you've been to pride before?" I ask Kai.

"Yeah, but only once." He says.

"What's it like?" I ask.

"I saw so many pride flags that I cried from joy last year." Yaku says.

Kai nods. "It's like- it's hard to put in words. Like seeing so many people coming together to celebrate is just so beautiful and it can make you emotional but like in a good way." He tries to explain. "It's hard to describe it, but when you get there, you'll understand the feeling."

"Wow…" I say. The rest of the walk to the store is spent in comfortable silence.

When we get inside, Sugawara smiles. I can feel his energy radiating off him. He makes his way through the store and starts looking through clothing racks. Kai follows. Yaku sees some flannel shirts and goes to look at them. Semi and I just walk until we find a rack with some t-shirts.

After about 15 minutes, we meet at the fitting rooms to show off what we found.

Sugawara tries on his first piece of clothing and looks in a mirror. "Wow, I look good in a blazer." He says. He sticks his hands in the pockets.

"Have you actually never worn a blazer before?" Semi asks.

"Nope. They weren't part of the school uniform at Karasuno and if I ever needed to dress formal, I'd wear a nice shirt and slacks." He tells us. "I figured it might be a good idea to get one for when I'm interviewing for jobs."

"I just have my old blazer from Aoba Johsai for that." I tell them.

"I like it." Sugawara says, smiling in the mirror.

We all go in the fittings rooms to try something on and come out to show it off.

"That's a nice shade of blue on you." Kai tells Yaku, who's wearing a blue and black flannel shirt.

"Thank you, Kai. That shirt looks good on you too." Yaku says back. Kai's wearing a green and black striped shirt. He smiles.

"Thank you, Yaku. Suga, you look amazing dude." Sugawara is wearing a pair of overalls and a white shirt with pastel blue sleeves.

"Thanks. I wanted to try something different." He says.

"It's a good look." Yaku says.

"Don't you have a shirt similar to that one?" Yaku asks Semi, who's wearing a black t-shirt that's a bit too big on him.

"Yeah. It fits my aesthetic." He says. Sugawara notices the selection of clothes he found to try on. A look of something between the lines of disappointment and multiple stages of grief crosses his face. All the clothes Semi selected were either black t-shirts, shorts, or pants.

"Are you not going to try on anything different?" Sugawara asks. "Trying on clothes is a great way to experiment with styles and a thrift store is a great place to do it because it breaks away from what's 'in season' according to big brands and department stores."

"I've tried stuff before and gotten teased for it. I've been told I look uncool so at this point I don't care. I just want comfortable." Semi confesses. That explains the glasses.

"Hmmm…" Sugawara stops to think for a moment. "There's nothing wrong with your aesthetic or with comfort being a priority. You just need to figure out how to style it. I'll be right back." He walks off, leaving Kai, Yaku, Semi, and I to wonder what he's planning. A few minutes later he comes back with some more clothes.

"Okay. Try this." Sugawara hands Semi a white shirt. "It's more of a practical look for winter, but try layering this shirt with one of your normal shirts on top.

Semi goes back to try it on. A minute later he comes back out. Sugawara takes in the look. He nods in approval at his work. "It looks good."

"Really? You think so?" Semi asks. He turns to the mirror to see how he looks.

"Yeah. It doesn't even have to be a white shirt. If you have any solid colored long-sleeved shirt, you can wear any t-shirt on top as long as the colors go well together. Or if you have a plain t-shirt you can wear a long-sleeved shirt with a fun pattern underneath. And I've seen that you seem to like wearing more loose-fitting shirts. If you have a long-sleeved shirt that fits well underneath, a baggier t-shirt would work well with it…" Sugawara goes off giving Semi advice on how to style clothes. He nods while listening to the other setter's advice.

We continue shopping for about half an hour or so before we decide to head out. Sugawara decides to get the blazer, overalls, and the white and blue shirt. Semi ends up getting two white long-sleeved shirts. The first shirt is a normal shirt. The other one has sleeves that go all the way to the hand and has holes for the thumbs, as well as a pocket and a hood. Once we pay for our stuff, we start heading back to school. We make a quick stop at a nearby craft store so Sugawara can get some stuff for next weekend. He gets tulle in the colors of the rainbow, some ribbon, and some string in different colors. Sugawara pays for the stuff and we finish our walk to the train station. We only have to wait a few minutes before the train arrives.

"Thank you, for today." Semi says. "I really appreciate you guys tagging along."

"It's no problem." Yaku says.

"Yeah. And besides, it was a lot of fun." Sugawara says.

"True." I say.

"I also thought more about it and I think I'll go with you guys next weekend." Semi says.

Sugawara smiles at that. "It'll be so much fun."

"When we get back to school, should we get our tickets?" Yaku asks.

"Yeah." I say. "Pride is on Sunday, but since this is a weekend-long trip, I think we should take either a Friday night or Saturday morning train, depending on when we all have classes on Fridays."

"I have physics at eleven, but it ends at noon so I'll be good after that." Sugawara says.

"I have literature at nine, but it's only an hour long." Semi says.

"I have calculus at ten, but it's done by eleven, so no problem for me." Kai says.

"I have calc at the same time as Kai." Yaku says.

"I have classes at ten and eleven, but they're only an hour each." I tell them.

"Since we all have classes in the morning on Friday, would sometime after one work?" Sugawara asks. "It gives us time to rest for a few minutes and get to the station after classes."

"Yeah." I say. Kai, Semi, and Yaku nods in agreement.

Before we know it, the train reaches our stop. We get off the train and walk back to our dorms. We get our laptops and meet at Kai and Yaku's dorm. We get tickets for a 1:15 train with a 3:15 arrival time. After I pay, a screen pops up that says _Thank you for your purchase._ I take a picture of it to send to Tooru and send another text saying "See you on Friday." He sends back a string of emojis.

"I can't believe we're actually going to Tokyo." I say.

"It's going to be great." Yaku says. "Trust me, it'll be a fun weekend."

"Well, I'm looking forward to it." I say.

Kai and Yaku tell us all about Tokyo and the exciting things we can do next weekend until we start to get hungry. We head off to the dining hall to get dinner.

* * *

**Author's Note: I'm not saying that Suga got the string and ribbon so he can make the gang bracelets in the color of their pride flags, but that's exactly what I'm saying. Also, I would like to make it clear that while I made a Harry Potter reference in this chapter, I do not agree with any of the transphobic things that JK Rowling has been saying. I hope you liked this chapter. I may have a little something unrelated to this story that I've been working on for pride month so stay tuned for that. Next chapter, we go back with the captains. Also, I was thinking of making some art of this fic. Like just drawing one of my favorite scenes from each chapter and posting it on my Tumblr. Would y'all be interested in that? Thank you to everyone who left a like/comment/kudos/started following this fic lately. I really appreciate everyone's support (insert heart emoticon that won't let me use here)**


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